Here’s a frightening thought for rivals of Ultimate Eagle in the
Santa Anita Handicap on March 3:
the winner of the Grade II Strub Stakes on Feb. 4 by a widening 7 ¼
lengths in his first start on conventional dirt is doing better now than
he was before the Strub.

“He came out of the race better than when he went in,” trainer
Mike Pender said of the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Mizzen Mast
owned by B.J. Wright. “He’s tearing down the barn. He’s peaking at the
right time.”

That would be for the 76th running of Santa Anita’s signature
race, the Grade I, $750,000 Big ‘Cap at 1 ¼ miles. Should the
front-running Ultimate Eagle run, he could face pre-race favorite and
defending champion Game On Dude, another horse with a penchant for
speed.

It would mark a rematch of sorts between Pender and Game On
Dude’s trainer, Bob Baffert. The Hall of Fame conditioner sent out
Misremembered to win the 2010 Big ‘Cap, in which Pender’s Jeranimo
finished fourth.

March 3 looms an exciting afternoon for Pender, who also is
scheduled to run Jeranimo in the Grade I, $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile
on turf that day.

But back to Ultimate Eagle. “He has the staying power of a
marathoner, but he’s got the gate speed of a Quarter Horse,” Pender
said. “That’s a pretty potent combination.”